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The death of one prominent journalist due to vehicular accident reminded me of one idea or belief I long held. This I got from the many years of taking the bus in Metro Manila which if you are familiar with its awful traffic, will encourage you to think or imagine of some solutions.
That idea is simple. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) must ALLOW ONLY ONE BUS COMPANY PER ROUTE.
Why?
The reason of the accident which killed the abovementioned journalist was because two buses were racing. The reasons could be because they are competing to get the passengers first, or maybe just simple machismo showing who is the better driver.
I have experienced both of the above first hand. Either as passenger of one of the buses involved in the “race”, or spectator from a private car. It always happens between drivers from two different companies who are trying to get the most passengers as much as possible. Sometimes cutting on each others paths in order to corner the passengers standing by. No wonder especially during rush hours, the bus stops become traffic bottlenecks. If there are 10 bus companies, it means there are 10 buses “blocking” each other.
In cases where there is no traffic, but two buses happen to run side by side, this situation can sometimes turn into a “race,” as one driver wants to show his bus can run faster than the other. This poses danger to both the passengers and other cars around.
How would the picture be different if there is only one bus company?
If there is only one bus company, a salary-based system for the drivers is more viable instead of the current commission basis compensation. At the moment, in EDSA for example, since there are many bus companies competing on the same route, they pay by commission so that the drivers will be encouraged to get the most number of passengers. The more passengers, the more money for the bus company. And they have to elbow each other down. Otherwise, the passengers will be taken by the competitors and their business will die. The commission system of the bus companies wittingly or unwittingly has made the situation worse.
If there is only one bus company in one route, it need not worry about competitors eating up their share. The passenger volume and income is assured, thereby making it easier to adopt a salary based system for the drivers, complete with benefits like SSS and others.
Also the number of buses running on one route is manageble. Since there is only one company, they can determine the right number of buses that should go out at any given time. Unlike now, 10 or more different bus companies means 10 or more buses have to go out. No coordination in the dispatching since they are competitors. The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) tried a “unified dispatching scheme” but apparently it is not effective. The bus companies would play politics and would try to have their buses prioritized to go out over the others. No wonder there are many colorums. They do not want to be limited by the MMDA dispatchers.
Also, if you belong to the same bus company, the probability that you would race against each other is almost nil. You belong to the same bus company and the other bus driver could be your drinking buddy after work. There is more respect and courtesy in the air. I observed it with PVP Liner that plies Ayala-Quiapo. Since they are the only bus company in that route, the drivers cooperate. They form single files in the bus stops. The dispatchers can manage the bus units that go out. Sometimes the passengers were transferred to the other bus units in case one breaks down or if one has too few passengers.
Calling LTFRB and MMDA.
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